BelleLeGrand1

Hey Randy, please check your mailbox. I sent you the info you asked for by pm. Talk to you later.

Nicely done, Frank. That must be right. Isn't it amazing how helpful a few extra details can be?

Is it possible you mean Norma Rae who works in a textile factory?

Interesting you should mention this; in I Was a Male War Bride, Cary is a French officer with an English accent. A little distracting, but probably better than having him try using a French one. Hard to imagine that.

To celebrate Randolph Scott's birthday, I've just watched The Walking Hills for the first time and wish to highly recommend it to anyone here who hasn't had the chance to see it. It's got a great cast (Ella Raines, Edgar Buchanan, John Ireland) directed by John Sturges. Kind of a film noir Western with echoes of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Hi Randy. I bet if we started a Vera thread, we'd be the only two on it, making it an even more exclusive club than this one for ZS. :-) I think those who have bad opinions are probably people who have either never seen any of her movies, or perhaps just the early ones where she was still inexperienced. I agree with your choices, especially Surrender, whose ending I found particularly moving. Is it just me, or do you think that Harvey Korman in Blazing Saddles modeled Hedley Lamarr on John Carroll? First time I ever saw him (think it was in Belle Le Grand) I noticed a huge resemblance. Of her 26 films, I've been able to obtain half so far, many through some reliable vendors I found on IOffer, including Fair Wind to Java and Lake Placid Serenade. Back to ZS...wouldn't it have been interesting to see him and Vera in a movie together? Since she was pretty good in Hoodlum Empire, I could certainly imagine them in a film noir.

Agreed! I believe the same thing happened just last month when Van Johnson's tribute aired, with two closely timed showings of In the Good Old Summertime.

Very well said. Let's hope TPTB read your comment and take it to heart.

Oh I envy you having a complete DVD library of MST3K. Has there been a thread for them here? I'm much too lazy to look in the archives, but boy would I enjoy reading that stuff. I'm amused that the kind of behavior that keeps me away from theaters these days is what makes me enjoy MST3K so much. No one at the movies is nearly that witty or observant, just obnoxious. And I didn't mean to hijack the thread, really. I could just think of no better way to describe the god-awful music for the Featured Attraction, and off we go. :-)

Hi Randy, Nice to "see" you again. It's been quite awhile since I've seen Stallion Road, and I haven't yet seen Appointment in Honduras, but I'd like to. Since Zach's birthday is coming up next month, I'll be trying to decide which movie(s) to watch in tribute. Often I use a star's birthday to decide what movie to watch, otherwise it's so hard when there are so many great old movies to choose from. I'm thinking about Cass Timberlane since I have never seen that one, or perhaps Ruthless. But I'm sure I'll change my mind several times before then. Like you, I also find I like Warner Bros. films of that vintage to be my favorites. I enjoy watching all the stars you mentioned plus so many more (Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, for starters). Is it me, or does it seem that lately TCM is showing less and less from WB? Yes, Randy (for Randolph Scott?) my screen name is in tribute to the beautiful Vera Ralston. I had to smile at your recognition and I hope you don't mind if I talk a little about her. Until 2005, I had never seen any of her films, and if I had heard of her at all it was probably as the punchline to some joke. But, I happened upon Jubilee Trail (coming on TCM at the beginning of March!) on the Encore Western channel and immediately became a fan. I've now seen several more of her films and enjoyed every one, especially the ones where she co-stars with John Carroll (like Belle). She became a much better actress than she was ever given credit for. I just wish I had discovered her before she passed away.

Thanks for letting me know what happened, but I should tell you I think the mail system must have some serious glitches. Until yesterday, when I received a second message from a fellow member, my mailbox had only one post in it (sad, but true), so a full mailbox was not the issue. And I didn't turn it off; according to patful that wasn't even an option. And while I appreciate that I somehow was on the list, that really isn't my point. With all these apparent snags in the system, I'd like to once again suggest that the best way to ensure everyone here can participate if they so desire would be to simply post the ballot on the thread. That would then truly be as inclusive as possible. It would also save you a lot of time and effort as well. If by active members, you're referring to ones who post a lot, you're overlooking a whole lot of registered people who might stop by often to read without signing in. Thanks again for responding.

Thanks for your quick and thorough response. While I understand this unintentionally turned into a logistical nightmare not intended to slight anyone, I imagine I'm not the only one who might have found it to be an unnecessarily complicated procedure. Since the pm system didn't allow for sending the message to multiple addresses (thanks for explaining now), perhaps posting the ballot on the thread for all to see would have been a better option than sending the message to a random few. It would seem to be easier for both you and the members. If the quirks in the system aren't worked out by next year, I'd respectfully suggest this method.

This is well after the fact, I know, but I was just curious about how these ballots were distributed. Were there qualifications that had to be met, or was it supposed to be open to anyone registered here? Looking back through the thread, I notice that several people (mostly newly registered, but not all) had to request a ballot. I never got one either. The phrase, "If you have received a ballot", should have given me a clue that it might not have been meant for all, but I could be wrong. I frequently am. If it was, however, supposed to be open to all registered here, it would seem to have been a very simple process to send a pm and bcc all of us. Thanks in advance.

I wish it was something intriguing; just some off topic stuff. I'll probably write it up a little later. Unless you've blocked them, I think all you need to do is check your mailbox (right under the control panel) for any personal messages. Unfortunately for me, I never paid attention to that feature and let something sit in there for a couple of months. Poor guy probably thought I was ignoring him. :-( You know, I was trying to remember the first movie I saw ZS in, and I think it might have been It's Only Money when I was a kid. Too bad he had to make his final appearance in a Jerry Lewis film. So, it was only many, many years later when I realized what a fine actor he was.

I must give full credit to MST3K for the use of the term "video poker music". It's been in my lexicon for so long, I almost forgot where it came from. It certainly applies to that poor excuse for a theme song. Agree with you on the big band intro, although, like FF, I really like the current afternoon one.

Indeed, he was born in Austin, but to a prominent wealthy family; father was a distinguished physician, grandfather was a cattle baron. Acting seems not to have been what they would have chosen for him. I really need to get back to that biography, since I'm only midway through Chapter 2. I agree with you (as I often seem to do) about Paul Newman's Oscar recognition. While I was never a huge fan of him in his heyday, I think he grew as an actor over the years and enjoyed many of his later roles. One I particularly liked was Sidney J. Mussburger in The Hudsucker Proxy. Sure, sure. And, while I almost never do this, I hope you don't mind if I'd pm about something we've both run across. You may know what I'm talking about already.

Ditto, FF concerning the afternoon intro. My only complaint about TCM Remembers is that they truncated it. The music now doesn't flow as it originally did. I still hate the new Feature Attraction and zip through it to get to Robert Osborne. It wallows in lameness and sounds like video poker music. And I dearly miss the Chet Baker "Look for the Silver Lining" morning intro. The bright flickering lights threatens a migraine every time I see it.

"It is much better to have people do them who work in the field, like actors who worked with them, or directors" My favorite bio is the one Ann Blyth did for Joan Crawford, recounting her experiences working with her on Mildred Pierce. It was enlightening, done with obvious affection and gratitude. This should be required viewing for people whose knowledge of Joan begins and ends with Mommie Dearest.

Since you only listed a maximum of 4 movies per year, hope you don't mind if I suggest a few to make it the now standard 5? 1923 Scaramouche 1924 Peter Pan 1925 Ben-Hur 1926 The General

Nice to see you here as well. I'll bet you've also heard the quote from Oscar regarding Joan's penchant for knitting between scenes. According to the biography, A Talent For Genius, one his first remarks to her on the set was, "Do you knit while you f**k?" I love that guy.

Haven't seen it in a long time, but that's one of my favorite SCTV sketches. Catherine O'Hara makes a great Joan. Thanks for posting that and giving me a good laugh. Message was edited by: BelleLeGrand1

"Bronco Nagurski called, he wants his shoulder pads back"

I'm glad you didn't mind my sending you the link to Snopes. They've come in handy for me many times when something in the news didn't seem quite right. Not everyone appreciates having myths debunked, though. After I read Behind the Oscar several years ago (very interesting if you can find a copy), I no longer put much stock in those awards (or others, for that matter). I agree with you that Edward G. and Joseph Cotten among others were criminally overlooked. Some performers seemed to get "make-up" Oscars the year after they should have won, and still others were awarded seemingly for a body of work rather than one film. I think that the greatness of a movie such as AFITC can be measured in part by its ambiguity; that people on opposite sides of the spectrum can somehow find something within that seems to validate their views. Or something like that. :-) Too bad it looks like just you and me here (and randy) willing to discuss Zachary Scott. It often seems to me like the more interesting actors/actresses get overlooked in favor of the most popular mainstream stars. I mean, how much can you say that hasn't already been said about them? Recently Encore Westerns showed Treasure of Ruby Hills (1955), but unfortunately, Direct TV pixelated on me when I tried to record it. Have you ever seen that one? Hope they show it again sometime. I'm always surprised that someone as urbane as him managed to come off well in westerns.

There is a great episode from the fourth season of The Twilight Zone starring Jack Kiugman called "Death Ship", with a similar basic premise, except it's astronauts on a space ship instead of passengers on an ocean liner.

"Hmmm...the Warner Brothers' fan fare, trumpets blaring, is pretty impressive. And wouldn?t you say the lady from Columbia is gorgeous?" I especially enjoy it when the WB fanfare blends right into the opening credit music. As for the Columbia lady, she's swell all right. Bet you've never seen her get into the disco music at the start of Thank God It's Friday.